mason



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

, A. J. MASON. METHOD OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL EXGAVATIONS FOR WATER COURSES, &c.

No. 532,679. Patented Jan. 15, 1895 rm: uonms PETERS cu. Pnui'oumu. wqsgmumn. n. c.

4 Sheets- Sheet 2.

(No ModL) A. J; MASON. METHOD OF MAKING ARTIFIGIAL'EXGAVATIONS FOR WATER COURSES, &c.

Patented Jan. 15, 1895.'

(No Model.)

v 4 Sheets--Sheet 3 A. J. MASON. METHOD OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL EXGAVATIONS FOR WATER COURSES, &c.

No. 532,679. PatentedJaJn. 15,1895.

WWM/wsw M MW m: "cams Firms go, Momufna, WASHINGTON. D. c.

(No Model.) 4 ShetsSheet 4.

A. J. MAS 0N. METHOD OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL EXGAVAT'IONS FOR WATER G0URSES,'&0.

No. 532,679. Patented Jan. 15,1895.

QWi/bvmm UNITED'STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR J. MASON, OF 'KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSI GNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRANK K. HOOVER, OF SAME PLACE.

I METHOD OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL" EXCAVATIONSI FOR WATER-COURSES, &c.

SLlEECIFiCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 532,679, dated January 15, 1 895. l I Application filed February 23, 1894. Serial No. 501,199. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR J. MASON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of- Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented'a new and Improved Method of Making Artificial Excavations for Water-Oourses, Canals, &c.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to improve the system or procedure in making artificial excavations, and it consists in the novel features and steps hereinafter described and specifically pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a slope and. the conveyer adjacent thereto, and

the advanced lines of the end slope and conveyer. Fig. 3'is a cross section of the excavation for the canal showing'the end face and its sectional parts and also the vertical face at the base of the endface and upon the sides of the excavation against which a part of the conveyer tracks come intocontact. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the conformation of the end. face. Fig. 4 is a sectional'view of the end face or slope taken on line y. y. of Fig. 3, showing the material being dislodged by picks, bars, 850., and the conveyer adjacent to the base of the slope and the prisms of material to be deported from the end face or slope and base in degrees.- Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the conformation of the end face showing the form thereof when progressively loosening said end face by picking, the. Fig. 5 is an alternate sectional viewof the end face or slope taken from-the line y. y. on Fig. 3 and showing the material removed from the surface downward toward the base from a series of benches. Fig.5 is a perspective view of the conformation of the end face and the form veyer, B.

when the method of plowing down on a bench is followed.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

In carrying out my improved method, I first excavate the proper depth with the ordinary excavating devices so as to obtain the bed and establish its width. The sides of the excavation are then given a form or degree of inclination toward the bed, as may be desired, 6.0

using the same means of excavating, In this manner I form a short section of a canal ex-' cavation as seen at A in Fig. 1 in which a is the bed, and a, a the respective sides. The

end face, a which extends in a transverse ened, so that when loosened the material is subject to deportation by gravity. It will therefore, be seen by the longitudinal sections of the excavation for the canal through the end face, as in Figs. 4 and 5, that the end face in form is in two lines, a vertical face at the bottom of uniform height, and an upwardly inclined face extending to the surface.

Adjacent to the vertical face a of the end face, a and extending upward along the sides a, a of the excavation and conforming there- 8 5 to, is placed an endless or continuous con- The conveyer, as shown, is supported upon and below a trussed frame, B which extends transversely to the axis of the canal excavation. The upper ends of the por- 9o tions 1), b of the frame B extend to a suitable distance above the surface and as far from the edges of the sides a, a of the excavation as is required to convey the material.

Upon the surface a short distance from the 9 5 edge of the side a of the excavation, and parallel therewith, is placed a track 0, upon which is a car D. Upon the surface adjacent to the edge of. the side a of the excavation is a track O, upon which is a car D. One end I00 From the upper edge 70 b, of frame B of the conveyor is mounted upon the car 1), and the other end 11, upon the car D and supported by said cars in such a manner as to elevate the frame B the requisite distance above the'surface. The eonveyer track and conveyer are suspended from the frame 13 across the excavation a sufficient height, above the bottom, a and the sides, a, a of the excavation for the passage of the conveyers. The sprocket wheels 12*, b at the respective ends of the frame B carry the endless conveyor, and a power conveying band b is employed to convey power from the engine b on the car D to the shaft of the sprocket wheel I).

The removal of the soil upon the slope at depends upon the character of the material, and will be more readily understood by reference to Fig. 4, in which the material, when incapable of being plowed is attacked with picks, the, and readily falls to the foot of the slope upon the conveyer. It will also be seen that alarge amount of material lies above the conveyer between which and the bed of the excavation the conveyer is interposed. As seen in Figs. 4 and 4 the detaching of the material is simply needed to enable the material to fall by gravity upon the moving conveyer, B. This material is detached by means of picks, shovels, bars, explosives, &c., and once loosened, falls upon the conveyer.

\Vhen the material extending across the end face a has been removed to the properdepth, as shown in the contained prism, d, 61', d d it is necessary to remove the prism of material d, d d d. This is done by ordinary grading processes and the material cast upon the conveyor. This being accomplished the conveyer is advanced in position as seen in dotted lines a and against the new vertical face presented and the operation described repeated, the prisms of material upon the slope being removed, alternating with the removal of the prism at the foot of the slope.

The material as represented in Fig. 5 is such as can be plowed and presents an alternate condition for the removal to that shown in Fig. 4:-

In the case of material which can be plowed, the end face is brought to the form shown in Figs. 5 and 5. A bench a preferably four to six furrows wide, is plowed down beginning at the surface, and the material thrown over the edge of the slope of the face a in the manner shown in Fig. 5 which influenced by gravity falls upon the conveyer and is thereby transported as desired. The degree of lateral movement which is necessary to be given to the material loosened on said bench a is accomplished by the use of well-known grading tools, such as a road grader, which pushes the material laterally until it falls over the brink of the slope a. When all the material within the prism e, e, 6 e is so re moved the material in the prism e, a e, e is manipulated by ordinary grading tools and cast upon the conveyer. The conveyor is then advanced to the dotted position shown a and the process of plowing down the slope is repeated.

In the process described a saving of labor is accomplished in the construction of railroads, canals, and other engineering work, in which artificial excavation is required and the method is applicable to such excavations as require no reduction of the sides of the excavation but which may be retained in a vertical position.

Having fully described my invention, what I new claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The herein described method of making artificial excavations for canals, the, consisting first in forming the end face of an excavation with a slope greater than the angle of repose of the material when loosened and then inter-posing between the bed of said excavation and the end face, a conveyer and then dislodging the material upon the end face and removing the foot of the end face in degrees and advancing the conveyor in position.

2. The herein described method of making an artificial excavation for canals, &c., consisting first in forming an end face of an incipient excavation with a slope greater than the angle of repose of the material when loosened, and then making a vertical face at the foot of the slope transversely to the axis of the excavation, and then dislodging the material upon the end face and then intercepting the downward progress of the dislodged material at the foot of the slope and conveying the material laterally across the line of the axis of the canal to the surface.

3. The herein described method of making artificialexcavations for canals, 660., consisting first in forming the end face of an incipient excavation with a slope greater thanthe angle of repose of the material when loosened, then extending the end face upon the lines of interior angles at the surface, then dislodging the material upon the sectionally divided end face in degrees, and intercepting the dislodged material at the foot of the end face by a conveyor and conveying the material laterally as desired.

4. The herein described method of making artificial excavations for canals, &c., consistin g first in preparing an incipient excavation at the bottom with a bed of suitable width, and inclining the sides at the proper angle to the bed, then forming an end face in the excavation upon the conformation of opposing angles described upon the surface and with a slope greater than the angle of repose of the material when loosened, making a vertical face at the foot of the slope transversely to the axis of the excavation, then dislodging the material upon the end face and intercepting the dislodged material at the foot of the slope, and conveying the material to the surface in a direction corresponding to the vertical face then forming an end face with a-slope greater than the angle of repose of the material when loosened, and then subdividing the material to be removed upon thesurface and upon the slope in prisms, corresponding with the degree of inclination of the end'face and then dislodging the material composing each prism uponthe slope in degrees and then intercepting and conveying the materialat the foot of the end face to the surface.

' 6. The herein described method of making artificial excavations for canals, &c., consisting first of making a bed at the bottom'of an incipient excavation of the requisite width, then forming the end face with a slope greater than the angle of repose of the material when loosened and then making a vertical face at the footof the end face, then subdividing the material upon the surface and upon the slope in prisms corresponding with the degree of inclination of the end face and then subdividing thefoot of the slope in prisms corre- 4 sponding with the described line of the vertical face and then dislodging the material in the prisms upon the slope and then interceptin g the dislodged material upon the slope and conveying it to the surface, and then removing the prisms of material composing the vertical face at the foot of the slope as described.

7. The herein described method of making artificial excavations for canals, 860., consisting first in making-a bed at the bottom of an incipient excavation of the required width and form, then forming the end face with a slope greater than the angle of repose of the material when loosened, then making a vertical face at the foot of the end face interposing a conveyor between the bed and said verticalend face, then dislodging the material on the end slope by plowing on a bench from thesurface downward and moving the material laterally'on said bench over the brink of the end slope.

8. The herein described method of excavatingcanals, which consists in opening a channel transverse to the axis of the'proposed ca- ARTHUR J. MASON;

Witnesses:

FRANK K. HOOVER, S. L. O. HASSON. 

